Lawrence of Arabia
is one of those classics that any filmophile should make time for and I mean
make time for. With a running time of 216-minutes complete with a 15-minute
intermission means it easily falls into the epic category. It is a picture from
another era that revels in the vast emptiness of time and space that occupies
the Arabian Desert while simultaneously focusing on one extraordinary
individual at a monumental time.
Peter O’Toole arguably earns the accolade for greatest
screen debut as T.E. Lawrence, a British Officer and archaeological scholar who
is tasked with assisting the Arabic uprising against the Ottoman Empire. It is
a gripping biopic of a mysterious figure that was immortal and fragile, kind
yet cruel and reserved while displaying chauvinism. O’Tooles’s performance and
presence is astounding, earning him immediate universal praise including the
compliment from renowned wit Noël Coward who told O’Toole: "If you`d been
any prettier, it would have been Florence of Arabia."
The cast is a terrific ensemble of stars in the making like
O’Toole and Omar Sharif and established screen legends in their twilight years
such as Alec Guiness, Anthony Quinn, Jack Hawkins, Anthony Quayle and Claude
Rains. David Lean, a master of the small and large scale, successfully
juxtaposes action with emptiness as he directs many charismatic performances
within an immense landscape and a sweeping score that illustrate a journey so
ambiguous yet impressionable that it doesn’t feel like it ever ends.
Lawrence of Arabia
is one of the grandest examples of the epic films that typified the motion
pictures of the fifties and early sixties. “You were great once” was Lawrence’s
lamentation on the decline of the Arabian civilisation. While films may not
have since descended into barbarism and stupidity it is still the case that
Lawrence of Arabia was one of Hollywood’s last flings with films to its scale.
The QUAD’s new Epic!
film night provides one with an unmissable opportunity to watch masterpieces
like Lawrence of Arabia as they are meant to be seen. Only the big screen can
truly capture the daunting landscape, the imposing elements and defy
expectation of what is really possible.
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